


Reunion

by AnotherWriterWhoWrites



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Human, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-27
Updated: 2013-02-27
Packaged: 2017-12-03 20:15:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/702188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnotherWriterWhoWrites/pseuds/AnotherWriterWhoWrites
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louise is finally bringing her boyfriend Francis to her home to meet her family. Her entire family. Her entire insane overly protective family.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Francis blinked as he sat up in his bed. A glance at the nightstand clock told him that it was nearly one in the morning and a look on his other side showed that his girlfriend was no longer in bed with him.

He groaned as he stepped out of bed, quickly putting on his robe and slippers, in the shape of hearts a present from Louise, and walked through their apartment in search of his girlfriend.

He found her in the living room, wearing his oversized t-shirt and slippers, a phone in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. Her eyes were closed and she was speaking in German.

Thankfully he learned German in an attempt to understand her when she yelled at him.

“No, no.” she said massaging her forehead. “Mother. Trust me, there is no need.”

His ears perked up at the word mother. She never mentioned her family.

“Mother please.” she rolled her eyes. Then blinked in surprise at seeing him.

“What are you doing up?” she asked pressing the phone into her chest.

“Missing you.” he said with a smile.

She smiled back. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be with you.”

In response he sat down on the couch next to her.

She returned to listening to her mother. “Mother no. I know that. But…mother please.”

Francis raised an eyebrow at her. “Family problems?”

She shook her head. “Family reunion.”

He brightened. “Wonderful, when is the date?”

She shook her head. “Not going, fighting with mother on this right now. Yes mother I am still here.” she said into the phone.

“Why not?” he asked quietly.

“Trust me.” she said. “It’s better for the both of us if we don’t go.”

Her mother said something on the other line and she retuned her attention to the phone. “Mother…it is one in the morning. I will call you back.” she said before putting the phone back in its case.

She sighed as she leaned onto Francis’ chest.

“Family.” she said. “Can’t live with them.”

“Can’t live without them?” he suggested.

She shook her head. “No, just can’t live with them.”

“Oh come now _cher_ they cannot be that bad.” he protested.

She looked up at him. “The only reason you say that is because you have never met my family.”

“They cannot be that bad.” he repeated.

She sighed as she sat up and turned to face him. “You want me to count them off for you?”

“Shoot.” he said confidentially.

“Okay.” she said. She raised her hand and lifted one finger. “Starting with my father then.”

“My father was in the army, the marines, the navy, and a few others that you will have never heard of. He owns his own business and is one of the richest men in Germany. He is completely emotionless; I can count on one hand the amount of times that I have seen him showing emotions of any kind. He has permits for owning and shooting guns and he collects them as a hobby.”

“My mother is my father’s complete opposite, my siblings and I still have no idea how they got together. She is wild, will say the most inappropriate things at the most horrible times, and is that girl that every boy’s parents warned them about and then they went to meet behind the sheds and behind their parent’s backs. My siblings and I sometimes suspect that she has a criminal record that my father helped wipe clean.”

“Then my siblings. There is my eldest brother Roderich.” she continued. “A complete music crazy nut. He plays in an orchestra and was once married; unfortunately they divorced because he was more in love with his music than her. We also suspect that he is gay and is in the closet so far that he is finding Christmas presents. We also said that he is so strict and his back is so straight because of the long stick lodged in his ass.”

“My elder brother Gilbert now. The complete copy of our mother. And part of the reason that Roderich and his wife split up because he was sleeping with her.”

Francis blinked in surprise. “Your second brother…slept with your first brothers…wife?”

She nodded. “In his words, ‘Roddy has no idea how to please a woman.’”

“…please. Go on.”

“My third brother is Vash. We still have no idea what his job is. Police, immigration, FBI, something. All we know is that he had inherited our father’s love of guns and he uses them for his work. At a normal point of the day he can have about five to eight guns on him, on a bad day I’ve seen him take off about fifteen guns off his body. He is overprotective and prone to shoot first, shoot second, shoot third, and maybe if you’re still alive ask questions.”

“Then my little sister Lili. She is the quietest most trustworthy person you can find. The only normal person in the family besides me. Small, petite, and not to be underestimated. She looks innocent and naïve and she doesn’t look it but she also inherited our fathers love for guns. She always has about two guns on her as well.”

“Then my cousins. There is Berwald who is in fact gay and is married to a man named Tino. Every time I saw him I almost cried as a child because he has this face that makes you think that he just escaped from prison and now he wants to kill someone. I once saw him stop a chainsaw with his bare hands. Tino is a very cute nice man but when you make him angry he will pick you up and throw you through the walls of the building.”

“My uncle Mathias is my father’s younger half-brother from his father is an alcoholic and a bit axe crazy and is constantly invading other people’s personal areas.”

“My cousin Ingi is Mathias’ son, as Gilbert puts it, is a suspicious and somewhat lazy bastard. He also has a pet puffin.”

“My other uncle Nikolai is my father’s other younger half-brother from his mother’s side…”

Francis felt a sweat drop roll down his neck. How many family members were there?

“…is a lot like my father. Emotionless, and reclusive. He doesn’t like to get involved with other people.”

“Berwald's and Tinos adopted son is my second cousin Peter who is energetic and very strong. One kid punched him in the chest and the kid broke his hand. Peter didn’t even do anything.”

“That is my father’s side. My mother has two cousins. Cousin Lucas is a solemn, a neat freak like me, a downer, and a scheming older brother. For my fifth birthday away from my parents he handed me a pipe, tobacco, and something I believe was marihuana.”

“My cousin Clara is his younger sister and his complete opposite. She is sweet cute and almost flirty.”

“Is…is there more?” Francis asked weakly his head spinning.

Louise shook her head. “That’s the lot of them.”

Francis swallowed as he shook his head as if he had water lodged in it. 

“So when is the reunion?” he asked.

Louise blinked in surprise. “You’re…you’re not serious.”

“Oh but I am. I wish to meet your family.” he said.

“But…my family is insane.”

“Everyone has family members that they are not proud of and that they wish they couldn’t call their blood.” he said.

“You just described my entire family.”

Francis took her hands in his. “Love. I want to meet your family. Regardless of how insane they are.”

Louise looked him in the eye. “My family is severely over protective. They will swallow you, chew you up, spit you out, and then hit your dead carcass with a shovel, an axe, and guns.”

“I will take that chance.”

Louise shook her head. “You are insane.” she said before picking up the phone once more. She dialed the number while shaking her head. 

“Mother?” she said into the phone. “Yes. Yes. No. Mother. I am coming to the reunion and…” she threw a hesitant look at Francis who nodded his head in encouragement. Louise sighed. “And I am bringing someone with me.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“At least we are leaving during spring break so I am not missing any classes.” Louise said as she packed her suitcase.

“How are your kids out of curiosity?” Francis asked.

“College students hardly count as kids.” she said. “And they are fine. I made it quite clear on the first day of school that I do not tolerate any childish behavior.”

Louise wringed her hands together. “Are…are you sure that you want to go Francis? There is no obligation here.”

Francis laughed. “I am sure, I honestly want to meet your family. Why are you so tense?”

“Well…I’ve only brought home one person to meet my family and they always go crazy and overboard.”

Francis took her hand and kissed the back of it. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

She sighed. “If I could only believe one of those things.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
One they were on the plane to Germany Louise looked at Francis and said “Last minute reminders.”

“Okay.” a bemused Francis said. “Begin.”

“My father and my brother Vash love to intimidate people. They will either have a gun on their laps during some point of the visit and make sure you see the guns. Do not let them see that they intimidate you or else you are dead.”

“My family is severely old-fashioned. Hence the way I speak and the way that I refer to everyone by who they are to me. You will call the males there by ‘sir’ and the women there by ‘ma’am’ or ‘madam’ unless they tell you otherwise.”

“You have a penis, that means that my mother and my cousin Clara will automatically love you, mostly because they had believed that I was a lesbian throughout my high school and college life, and that also means that all the males in the house will hate you and want to castrate you. At some point of our visit my father and brothers will take you somewhere and interrogate you. Please answer truthfully because they can tell if you are lying and they have nothing against using torture.”

She took note of Francis’ sudden pale face. “Still want to go? I can make a few phone calls and I can have us tickets somewhere else in a few hours.”

He shook his head. “No, no. I want to go.”

Louise bit her lip as she looked out the window. 

“Why do you not want to see your family so badly?” he asked.

She sighed as she looked down at her hands. “The reason I choose a college in France was because of something that happened there. I needed to get away, and I do miss my family badly but I don’t want them to scare you off.”

Francis laughed. “They will not scare me off cher. I love you too much to leave simply because of your family.”

Louise managed a smile. “Ready to hear more?”

The smile fell off Francis’ face. “There is more?”

“Family history.”

Louise licked her upper lip in thought before she started. “We are able to trace our family back for generations upon generations. I think that if I spent the day in our library and our family records I could trace it back to the Germanic tribes, that is about the Roman Empires time. One part of our tradition is to buy our children the iron cross necklaces.” she said as she pulled down her shirt slightly to show her necklace. “It’s not passed down the family per se, each child gets one and it’s always a new one.”

“A family member has been in every war that has been held in Germanic history. Prussian, Austrian, Holy Roman Empire, German, Sweden, Denmark. Germanic land we had an ancestor in a war representing that country. My great-grandfather was in WWII.” she said almost hesitantly. 

“So was my great-grandfather.” Francis said. “The nurse that helped heal his wounds later became my great-grandmother.”

Louise smiled. “That is so cute.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Francis watched the scenery pass by him as Louise talked with the cab driver in German. When she leaned back and smiled she said “You have no idea how much of a relief it is to hear my wonderful mother language everywhere again.”

Francis smiled and took her hand. “I bet.”

She intertwined their fingers together and squeezed his reassuringly. “I am sure that everything will go fine…I hope.”

The cab stopped for a moment. Francis looked out the window, all he saw were a huge black gate and a guard walking towards them.

Louise stepped out the cab for a moment and talked with the guard. Francis saw him nod and walk back to the little booth as Louise slid back into the car.

“They are opening the gate, when they do just continue driving please.” she told the driver.

He nodded and obeyed as the guards opened the gate.

“Love?” Francis asked turning to her.

“Yes?”

“Are you sure we are going the right way?”

Louise looked amused but didn’t say anything until the car stopped once more. She pointed out the window.

Francis turned and felt his jaw drop. They had arrived at a castle. There was no other word for it really. It was tall and majestic. It demanded respect and showed the age it had achieved with grace and beauty. It was straight from a history book.

“Welcome to my childhood home.” Louise said amused.

She paid the driver and pulled Francis out of the car to the trunk where they took their luggage.

“Louise!” a woman’s voice cried happily.

They turned and Francis had the time to see a white blur go by him and nearly tackle Louise. Louise in turned smiled and nearly squealed as she hugged the woman. 

“Mother!” she exclaimed.

“Come, come. Let me see you.” her mother said taking a step back. She raked her hand through Louise’s hair almost mournfully. “You cut your long hair.”

Louise shrugged. “You know I never liked long hair mother.”

Her mother almost then immediately saw Francis standing there. Her red eyes widened. “And who is this handsome fellow?”

“This is Francis mother. He is my boyfriend.” Louise said.

Her mother grinned almost evilly as she pushed back a lock of white hair. “Louise darling. You said you were bringing a friend over, you said nothing about a boy.”

“I didn’t think that was important mother.” Louise said.

Francis took a step towards her and extended his hand. “Francis Bonnefoy madam.”

Her mother took his hand in both of hers tightly. “Maria please. None of this madam stuff, it makes me feel old. So you are my daughter’s boyfriend.”

“Louise’s boyfriend?” a male voice said. Francis turned around. Almost as if from nowhere had appeared a man who could have passed as a male Louise. Ice blue eyes locked in on his place.

“Louise’s. Boyfriend.” he said slowly. 

Francis forced himself to nod and extend his hand again. “Francis Bonnefoy sir.”

A moment passed before Louise’s father extended his hand. The shake was gentle but Francis was able to feel the muscle and the strength in that one hand. 

“Alvar.” he said.

“Father.” Louise said coming forward. She embraced her father tightly. “I missed you father.”

Alvar embraced Louise tightly as well as he continued to look at Francis over her shoulder. “I missed you as well daughter.”

Maria clapped her hands. “Well now that we all know each other. Francis Louise come in. you two are the first ones here.”

Louise took her place by Francis’ side and smiled encouragingly.

Francis tried to smile back. 

_‘This is going to be a long vacation.’_ he thought.


	2. Chapter 2

“Your father hates me, doesn’t he?” Francis asked.

“Well he doesn’t hate you completely.” Louise said.

Francis shook his head as they walked through the hallway. “You do know where we are going right?”

Louise laughed. “Yes. We are staying in my old room.”

“Your father allows us to be in the same room?”

“Mother helped.”

They walked until they reached nearly the end of the hallway where Louise opened the door to one of the rooms.

“And this is my childhood/teenage bedroom.” Louise said. 

It was a simple room. No posters on the wall, pictures were carefully placed on the shelves next to awards, trophy’s, and the like. Books were carefully arranged by alphabetical order on the desks and the shelves and two closets on the walls along with a desk. What caught Francis’ eye was the king sized canopy bed.

“Your room…is a lot like you.” he said amused. 

Louise rolled her eyes. “I will take that as a compliment.”

She opened a door that he hadn’t noticed before and walked in. It was a bathroom.

Francis shook his head. “This entire house is ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous good or ridiculous bad?” Louise called.

“Just ridiculous.”

Francis scanned the pictures littered around the room. Most were Louise in either a sports uniform or on the stage. Very few had pictures of her with other people. Three pictures caught his eye however.

The first seemed to be a picture between siblings. Louise was in the center and she had long hair that reached her waist and she had a small smile on her face. Next to her with his arm around her shoulders was a boy that looked slightly older than her. He white hair and mischievous red eyes. To her other side was another boy, the only dark haired boy in the picture, who was wearing glasses and was staring disapprovingly at the camera. Next to the boy with white hair was another girl with her hair in braids and a trusting look in her eyes. Next to the dark haired boy was another blonde boy that was glaring at the camera.

The second picture was a family picture and it had an air of old-fashioned style that his brother Arthur so loved. The men, this time the picture had her father and mother, wore suits and the women wore Victorian styled dresses with their hair done in a bun. Francis smiled at the child Louise standing beside her mother. 

The third picture however he couldn’t exactly make it out. First off it was turned so that back faced him and the laying on the table. He picked it up gently and simply stared at it.

He could easily make out Louise. She was smiling at the camera her long hair was blowing in the wind, this was before she cut her hair he guessed, and there was someone’s hand on top of hers. However someone had taken a knife to the picture and savagely cut through the picture marring it and covering the other person.

“Francis? Something wrong?” Louise asked coming out of the bathroom.

Francis looked at her and lifted the picture slightly. “What happened here?”

She froze for a moment as her eyes glued to the frame in his hand. “Where did you get that?”

“I found it on your desk.”

She shook her head before walking to him and plucking it out of his hand. She threw a dirty look to the side of the picture that was marred before throwing it into the trashcan next to the desk. 

“Louise?” he asked reaching out and gently touching her shoulder. “Are you alight?”

Louise nodded. “Yeah I’m fine. The picture is nothing important. Please forget about it.”

Francis nodded. “Alright.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Francis’ head was spinning as he and Louise sat in the garden. Louise had given, or had at least tried to; give him a tour of the house.

Francis covered his eyes with his hands. “This house is too big. How can you remember everything like this?”

Louise laughed. “I lived here my entire life, it’s easy that way.”

Francis leaned back in his seat. “My head is spinning with all the rooms and the hallways. How many rooms are there?”

“Over one hundred, that much I know.”

He shook his head. “As I said before, this house is ridiculous.”

Before Louise could say anything Francis felt a whirl of wind run past him and tackle Louise to the ground. 

“Sister!” the person cried out.

Francis immediately stood and looked at the two people in the ground. Louise was on her back smiling with her arms around the man on top of her. Francis recognized the white hair from the picture. It was her brother.

“Gilbert!” Louise exclaimed. The two of them stood and embraced. “I missed you brother.”

Gilbert laughed. “Of course you did. How can anyone not miss the awesome me?”

Louise shook her head as she smiled and turned to Francis. “Francis this is my older brother Gilbert. Gilbert this is my boyfriend Francis.”

Gilbert grinned evilly as his eyes shone brightly. He held his hand out to Francis. “Boyfriend huh?” he gave a bark of laughter as he said “and to think, I wasn’t going to come to this reunion.”

Francis looked at Louise. “What does he mean by that?”

“Don’t worry; he just likes to scare people.” Louise reassured him. “But just to be safe, don’t leave my side.”

Gilbert grabbed both Francis’ and Louise’s hands before pulling them inside. “Come on! The others are coming in a few minutes and I want to be sure to see Vash and Cousin Lucas’ expressions when they see that you brought your boyfriend.”

Louise rolled her eyes as she pulled her and Francis’ hand out of his grip. “Don’t lie Gilbert, mother told us that no one else is going to come until tomorrow.”

Gilbert pouted. “Oh come on Lulu. Don’t take away my fun.”

“Well don’t scare my boyfriend. Or call me Lulu.”

Gilbert threw a smirk towards Francis. “Well then I have shit to do. See you at dinner.” he said before running off into the house.

“Believe it or not he is actually my favorite brother.” Louise said. 

“He’s so…different than you.” Francis said. 

Louise shrugged. “We’re complete opposites in practically everything but we were children we were the closest to one another.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Francis looked through his suitcase for something to wear. Giving up he crossed the room to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

“Yes?” Louise called from the other side.

“Is this dinner a very formal affair or informal?” he asked.

“Wear those black pants along with the white shirt with the image of the red rose on it.” she instructed. “Along with the first pair of dress shoes you brought.”

Francis nodded. “Thank you love.”

“No problem.” she said as she stepped out of the bathroom in a similar outfit. She watched as Francis put on the clothes from the mirror as she brushed her hair. “Ready?”

Louise led them through the hallway and into the dining room. There her mother and father were waiting at the table. Maria looked up and smiled at them. 

“Sit, sit you two.” she said. “Make yourselves comfortable.”

Francis sat next to Louise well aware of Alvar glaring at him.


	3. Chapter 3

A few minutes into the dinner Louise excused herself from the table saying that she had to go to the bathroom.

She did feel bad about leaving Francis to the wrath of her father, mother, and brother. However on one hand he needed to get a taste of what would happen when her other brothers, cousins, and uncles arrive. 

That and she needed to do something else.

She quickly and quietly walked through the hallway and slid into her room. She leaned against the door and simply stared at the trashcan next to her desk. 

She slowly walked to it and leaned down to pick up the photograph that she had thrown into it.

Her thumb brushed against the glass. And the side of the photograph that had been ruined.

She sat onto the carpeted floor as she stared at the photo in her hands. She leaned against the desk for support.

Six years. The day before she had left for France she had done this. She still remembered that day clearly. 

She had been laying on her bed simply glaring at the photo. Hatred. Anger. Betrayal. 

Before she even realized that she had been moving the photo was in her left hand and a letter opener was in her other. And she raked it across that side of the picture until she could no longer make it out. 

How the hell did it find its way back onto her desk?

She sighed as she placed it back in the trash. Where it belonged.

She had put this behind her. She had gotten past this. There was no longer any need for her to dwell on it.

Instead she crossed the room and dug through her bag searching for a different picture. She finally found one; it was a picture of her and Francis. They were on the college campus that they had attended. He was standing behind her with his arms around her while they both were smiling at the camera.

She took the picture frame and pulled out the ruined picture. She slid in the new picture and placed it on her desk. She tilted it to the side slightly so that it showed at an angle and smiled at it.

She nodded in approval before she left the room and walked back to the dining room.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Francis watched, slightly concerned, as Louise left the room claiming to need the bathroom. She had barely eaten anything.

The moment Louise was out of earshot Maria and Gilbert immediately turned their attentions on him. Francis felt himself freeze as two pairs of identical red eyes locked on him.

“So Francis.” Gilbert started. “You and my sister.”

Francis nodded. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say anything to that.

Alvar this time looked up. “What is it that you do exactly?”

Francis managed a smile. “I am a fashion designer.” he answered. His answer seemed to make Gilbert snort. 

“I thought all male fashion designers are gay.” he said grinning.

Francis smiled back. “While there are a few gay men that I work with most however are not.”

Mother and son cackled, the sound sent shivers down Francis’ spine.

“How long have you been seeing my daughter exactly?” Alvar asked, he didn’t take his gaze off of Francis as he lifted his glass to his lips.

“Six years.” Francis said with another smile. Six wonderful years.

“Ever since she moved to France.” Maria sighed. She entwined her fingers together with her elbows balanced on the table and placed her chin on them. 

“Did you two have sex yet?” Gilbert eagerly asked. He ignored the glare his father shot him. “I mean I know that my sister is a prude and everything, blushes at the very mention of sex, and I am pretty sure has no idea that a person is supposed to have sex sometime in their lives but still.”

Three things happened at once. Alvars eyes narrowed, Maria leaned forward, and Francis felt his cheeks burn up slightly. 

Before he could say anything however he thankfully heard Louise answer from the hallway “I don’t see how that it any of your business.”

Louise entered the dining room once more and took her seat. “Seriously I leave for a few minutes and you interrogate him.”

“We just want to know a few things.” Maria said innocently. This time Louise snorted in disbelief.

“I’ve seen the way you guys pounce on the guys that Lili brings home.” Louise retorted. “You don’t just want to know a few things; you want to scare them away.”

“It is all in the name of love daughter.” Alvar said. 

Louise rolled her eyes and smiled at Francis. They clasped hands underneath the table; however based on the glare that Alvar was giving them and the smirk Gilbert threw them they weren’t fooling anyone.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
“Well that was an interesting dinner.” Francis remarked as they walked back to their bedroom. 

Louise rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry that I left you to them, I had something to do.”

“I knew that you didn’t have to use the bathroom.”

Louise smiled and kissed him on the cheek. “Tomorrow I’m taking you around Germany, time for you to see where it is exactly I grew up in and why I love it so much. And…there’s something else you need to know.”

“Yes?”

Louise gave him a small and supportive smile. “By this time tomorrow, the rest of the family is going to be here.”

Francis felt his body come to a stop.

“Quoi?”

“By tomorrow night at around,” she glanced a clock they were passing. “Nine o’clock the rest of the family will be here. And according to my father they are very eager to meet you.”

“Eager to meet me or eager to kill me?” Francis asked weakly.

“I think both.”

Louise laughed slightly at the pale look that Francis had suddenly adopted. “Don’t worry! I am sure that you will be fine.”

“Yo, French-boy.” Gilbert said turning the corner. He motioned with his head. “Come with me for a drink.”

Upon seeing his sister’s face he quickly raised his hands in a symbol of innocence. “I don’t mean anything by it honest West! I really just want to have a drink with your boyfriend and get to know him before our family kills him.”

Louise stared at her brother for another moment before she nodded at Francis. “If you want to.”

Francis managed another smile. “I think this will be a good bonding experience.”

Louise rolled her eyes. “I’ll be in our room if you need me.”

Gilbert placed his arm around Francis’ shoulder. “Alright then come! I know just the place to have a drink in this household.”  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
They were back in the garden. There were two glasses on a tray next to a clear bottle of golden liquid sitting on a stone bench. 

“Sit, sit.” Gilbert said. As they sat on the bench Gilbert busied himself with opening and pouring the bottle while Francis looked around. He smiled at the variety and the amount of flowers and trees. 

“Here.” Gilbert said handing Francis his glass. He raised his own slightly. “Uh…give me a minute. Ah! To life.” he toasted.

Francis smiled as they clinked their glasses together lightly. “Amen to that.”

The both of them sipped their drinks in silence.

“This was my favorite place as a kid.” Gilbert said glancing around the garden. “I planted those blue flowers over there, they are cornflowers by the way. Louise helped me.”

“I can see why anyone would love to be here.” Francis said. “It is a very beautiful place.”

Gilbert nodded absentmindly. 

“Look.” he said suddenly. “I love my sister very much, all of our brothers do. And we are very protective over her.”

“I’m a brother myself.” Francis said. “I have five brothers and two sisters. I know what it means to be protective.”

Gilbert nodded. “So you understand where I am on this. I want to protect her but I can’t always be there with her to protect her. And since you are her boyfriend I need to tell you this. Do you love her?”

“Of course I do.” Francis said. “I love her with all my being.”

Gilbert nodded again. “Please don’t hurt her in any way alright? If things don’t work out, and I really hope they do, please don’t hurt her.”

Francis thought back to the package he had secretly packed with him on this vacation that was currently residing in his bag. 

“Don’t worry.” Francis said smiling. “There is no way that this will not work.”


	4. Chapter 4

Francis sighed in slight pleasure as he and Louise sat on a bench. He looked around the park where children ran this way and that.

“My brother, sister, and I always loved to play here.” Louise said curling up next to him. She placed her head on his shoulder. 

Francis took her hand in his and entwined their fingers together. “Will we be going anywhere else today?”

Louise threw him an amused look. “Tired already?”

Francis gave her a small smile. “Darling we have been walking around Germany since about nine o’clock and it is now.” he checked his wristwatch. “Four o’clock.”

Louise giggled. “Alright I see your point. Are you hungry? I know a very nice restaurant just a few blocks away. If it’s still there.”

Together they walked hand-in-hand down the street slowly simply admiring the scenery.

“Well hello there Louise.” a somewhat smug voice suddenly said.

Francis felt Louise freeze beside him and her hand clench at his hand before they both turned towards the voice. A man stood there with brown red hair and brown eyes. A curl of his hair stood out and floated in the air.

“Hello Feliciano.” Louise said curtly.

Feliciano stepped forward and ignoring Francis entirely, he took Louise’s free hand in his and pressed a kiss to the back of it. Louise wrenched her hand out of his grip. 

“You haven’t changed a bit Feliciano.” she said.

Feliciano smiled slightly before his eyes turned to where Francis stood.

“And who is this?” he asked.

“Francis Bonnefoy.” Francis replied.

“My boyfriend.” Louise added.

It almost looked like Feliciano’s eyes darkened. He smiled then although it didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Well then.” Feliciano said clasping his hands behind his back. “You are a very lucky man Francis. Excuse me but I need to go.”

Without waiting for an answer Feliciano took off.

“An old friend?” Francis asked glancing back at his retreating back.

“More like an old fiancé.” Louise answered.

Francis froze. “What?”

Louise didn’t meet his gaze. “Feliciano and I were engaged. We broke up two months before I moved to France.”

“Why did you break up?”

Louise did meet his gaze then and she smiled sadly. “Catching the groom to be in bed with the maid of honor does tend to put a bad strain with the bride and the groom.”

Seeing Francis face she said “I’ll tell the entire story over dinner. Come on.” she said, pulling him towards the restaurant.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Francis waited until they had been seated, looked through the menus, ordered their meals, and had gotten their drinks before he folded his hands on top of the table and looked at her expectantly.

“Well?” he prompted.

Louise sighed as she placed her elbow on the table and her head in the palm of her hand. “I guess the best part is to start in the beginning. Feliciano and i…we were childhood friends. Our fathers knew each other so we knew each other. We grew up together.”

“We were best friends; he was the closest person to me besides my siblings. We told each other everything and always hanged out. Simple childhood things.”

She smiled here. “He was always a target for bullies because he was weak and never fought back. I always had to defend him and stick up for him. That lasted until the end of high school.”

“We started to date at the middle of senior year, for me it was because it was expected of us. I don’t know why he wanted to but he didn’t say no when I asked him out. It felt somewhat natural because we both knew each other and we didn’t have to pretend to be someone else.”

“Unlike myself Feliciano was a flirt, big time. He had dated a lot of girls in high school and was notorious for nearly always having a new girlfriend by the end of the week. I still don’t know if he had remained faithful to me when we were dating.”

“Then when high school ended I didn’t really know what to do. I had the choice of going to college or taking a year off to do some traveling. A few months later Feliciano and I were talking together trying to figure it out. We were sitting on my bed surrounded by books, pamphlets, and broachers. It was there that I looked at him silently for a moment. When he asked me if I was okay I asked him to marry me.”

“Why did you ask him?” Francis asked. 

Louise shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe it felt right maybe it was fear. I didn’t want to go alone even if I could take of myself. Maybe I loved him, I don’t know.”

“You don’t even know if you love him?” Francis asked.

Louise nodded. “I know I felt something for him, I just didn’t know what that was. He looked at me surprised for a minute and then said yes.”

Louise sipped from her drink. “We decided to have a short engagement and have the ceremony as fast as possible. Neither one of us liked to show off like our parents wanted to. I went to his house about four months before the wedding to go over some things that we needed when I heard noise upstairs. I went up and saw Feliciano in bed having sex with my best friend and maid of honor Angela. I didn’t even say anything, even though he saw me and tried to cover it up somehow, I just took my things and I left. Called my parents and told me everything. The wedding was off.”

The waiter had come with their dishes. After thanking him they ate in silence for a moment.

“That picture you had on your desk.” Francis asked without looking up from plate.

“It was a moment of temporarily insanity combined with anger.” Louise answered. “It was one of him and me.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this before.” Louise said. She looked up at him. “I assure you that are the only thing I have ever kept from you.”

Francis was silent for a moment. “Do you remember I once told you I had a girlfriend?”

Louise nodded. “The only other girl you dated besides me. You told me it didn’t work out.”

Francis nodded this time. “I didn’t tell you why however.” He took a sip from his glass. “As you might remember her name was Jeanne. She was this cute little quiet girl. Most of the time she was overlooked by everyone never really getting their attention. However when she wished to she could easily have gotten their attention.”

“We had started to date sometime in our junior year of high school.” Francis continued as he cut into his meat. “Around senior year however she learned something horrible. She had a weak heart since birth and with all the stress she had been going through as well as a surgery that she had kept a secret from me it was tolling on her and causing her heart to start to fail.”

“On the day of our prom I took her to the dance, I knew about her condition so I made sure that she wouldn’t overdo herself. When she couldn’t dance anymore I picked her up and drove her home. On the doorstep we kissed and I left. The next morning I get a phone call from her mother. She had passed away in her sleep that night.”

“Francis.” Louise murmured. She placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it reassuringly.

Francis smiled at her. “I honestly did love her and when she died I didn’t think I would ever be able to love again. Until I met you.”

She smiled back and leaned across the table to kiss him quickly on the lips. 

“I think that is enough talk of our pasts.” Francis said. “Time to talk of the present. What exactly should I prepare for with the rest of your family coming here?”

“Well I told you all about them.” Louise said. “The main thing is to not be afraid. My uncles can sense fear and three of them thrive on it.”

“I should expect interrogations?”

“Definitely.”

Francis sighed. “This is going to be a very long reunion isn’t it?”

Louise smiled at him once more. “You are the one that wished to come to it therefore you must have a death wish.”


End file.
